Super Bowl Champion Giants Threatening to Run Away With NFC East
Last season, the New York Giants were at 7-7 after 14 games, on the brink of missing the NFC Playoffs. They went on to win the Super Bowl. This season, New York is 6-2 with at least a two game lead in the all important loss column on the other three teams in the NFC East, the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. Does this means we should just cancel the playoffs an send New York straight to the Super Bowl? No. But we can be assured that the Giants will have a good chance of getting there again and will likely host a divisional round game this time, making their path there a little easier than the last two times they won it.
The other three NFC East teams are in a bit of disarray. The Redskins have fallen to 3-5 with their rookie quarterback, Robert Griffin III. No worries though. Redskins fans are happy about the future in DC. It’s not likely they make the playoffs this year, but watch out for them in future years.
The Eagles and Cowboys have problems though. Both of their starting quarterbacks are under fire. The Eagles Michael Vick has been the subject of benching rumors for a couple of weeks now. He will get the start on Monday Night Football this week against the New Orleans Saints, but many people feel that unless he does well and the Eagles win, he might be benched the following week. The Eagles started 3-1 but have lost three straight games. Vick has been a turnover machine all season with a combined 13 between his five lost fumbles and eight interceptions.
The Cowboys Tony Romo has been a turnover waiting to happen in Dallas as well. He has thrown 13 picks and has two lost fumbles himself. Last week against the Giants, the Cowboys statistically outplayed the Giants except for the turnover stat. The Cowboys turned the ball over five times yet still came within inches of winning the game on a late catch in the back of the end zone by Dez Bryant. Bryant landed with his fingertips on the end line to preserve the win for the Giants. Had he been able to stay in bounds, things would look a lot different in Big D right now. The Cowboys would be tied with the Giants and own tie-breaker over them with a series sweep. A game of inches indeed.
Oddsmaker has the following odds on this weeks NFC East games:
Carolina Panthers at Washington Redskins– Carolina is +3.5 -115 or +160. The Redskins are -3.5 -105 or -190. Over/under is 46.5. We like the Panthers with 3.5. They’ve bee able to keep a lot of games very close, though they haven’t been able to win them.
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants– Steelers are +3 -105 or +155. The Giants are -3 -115 or -175. Over/under is 47.5. We like the Giants -3. The Steelers have struggled this season on the road.
Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons– Dallas is +4.5 -115 or +175. Atlanta is -4.5 -105 or -210. Over/under is 47.5. We like the over and we like the Cowboys +4.5. The Cowboys and Falcons both keep them close.
Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints– Eagles are +3 -110 or +150. Saints are -3 -110 or -170. Over/under is 52. We like the under and we like the Eagles +150. The Saints are 2-5 for a reason.
